Knott’s Scary Farm is back for its 45th year in 2017! This year brings lots of exciting new additions. There are 9 mazes including new mazes: Dark Ride and Pumpkin Eater, and returning mazes with new twists such as Trick-or-Treat: Lights Out. There are new shows such as The Hanging: Fake Noose and Elvira’s Last Show. And there’s a brand new Halloween overlay for the log ride, Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny. With all the new additions and returning favorites it’s a really exciting year for Scary Farm! Check out our report below to see what awaits you in the fog!

Video of the new "Dark Ride" Maze:

Video of "Halloween Hootenanny" haunted log ride!

We’re at Knott’s Berry Farm where there’s a chill in the air...

And the Marketplace windows are filled with Halloween decorations...

Which can only mean one thing...

Knott’s Scary Farm is here!

At the entrance the crowds are lined up, eagerly awaiting the rope drop.

We’ll take refuge in a nice, dark place - our first maze, Trick or Treat: Lights Out!

Trick or Treat is back, but there’s a new twist - it’s in the dark. You’re given a flashlight to illuminate your way through the maze.

The maze is even creepier with the lights out. The flashlight doesn’t illuminate much, so you have to get close to things to see them.

Unfortunately the flashlight isn’t entirely under your control either, so it can go out at any time!

The Tricksters are lurking in the darkness!

If you aren’t careful, you may even have a run-in with the Green Witch!

Next we’ll check out Voodoo! The maze has been reversed this year, so you traverse it in the opposite direction.

It’s still my favorite environment of any of the mazes.

It really does feel like you’re in the cursed swamps of New Orleans!

Spears just wanted to sit and watch some TV, but he wasn’t having it!

By the way, I should point out that moon pies are only 25 cents. It’s a steal! Probably the best deal in the park.

Somebody should really start doing the dishes around here.

Well that’s not very appetizing.

There’s a cool new finale scene with a snake that attacks its victim!

Next up, Paranormal Inc.

You enter during the taping of a TV show investigating paranormal activity.

Of course, things don’t go quite to plan!

Get out!

I love all the special effects in this maze!

You come face-to-face with some enormous creatures at the end!

Next let’s check out The Tooth Fairy. She’s back, and she’s coming for your teeth.

It seems that a lot of children have mysteriously gone missing.

If I were that girl, I’d be sleeping with one eye open.

Oh no!

This seems a little excessive!

If you’re afraid of the dentist, this isn’t the maze for you.

I'm never putting money under my pillow again.

If you purchase Fright & Fast Lane, you get priority access to the mazes AND the rides this year! We took advantage by riding Ghostrider with no wait!

I’m happy to report it’s running excellent! That re-tracking is still holding up nicely.

While we’re in Ghost Town, let’s check out all the sights.

The Calico Saloon is in full Halloween mode.

Ghost Town Streets is the original scare zone, and my personal favorite. Ghost Town provides the perfect eerie backdrop for a scare zone.

Let’s venture into the fog...

There are lots of creepy monsters hiding in the fog, waiting to scare you.

Between the fog and the limited lighting it’s hard to see anything in Ghost Town. But they’ll see you!

Let’s head over to the media reception - but first, a quick spin on Silver Bullet!

In Fiesta Village there was a Dia De Los Muertos themed reception for media night.

There was tons of food...

Knott’s always makes an ice sculpture for their parties. This one had a portrait in it that changed into a skeleton as you moved around it.

Spears says, “Hold on, no photos while I’m chewing.”

“Okay, you can take a photo now!”

Dessert time!

Even better, drink time! Mmmmm, boysenberry beer!

As much as we wanted to stay and party, there was so much more to see at Scary Farm. So we decided to head towards the Timber Mountain Log Ride, making our way through the Fiesta de los Muertos scare zone on the way.

The Timber Mountain Log Ride: Halloween Hootenanny is a brand new Halloween overlay for the log ride, and it’s great!

There’s Halloween theming throughout the ride (which can also be seen by regular guests during the day), and once again scare actors are hidden throughout the attraction at night.

It’s really awesome seeing the Log Ride as part of the Halloween festivities again! It was always something I looked forward to in years past, and something that has been missing ever since the Log Ride renovation in 2013. This is a great overlay that you definitely shouldn’t miss!

Next we’ll head to Calico Square!

Here’s the stage for The Hanging: Fake Noose!

At the beginning of the show, Elvira makes a brief cameo. More on Elvira later!

Citizens of Calico, are you ready for a hanging!?

The show has all the ridiculous, crude humor and pop culture silliness that you’d expect from The Hanging!

Even fidget spinner makes an appearance!

Kim Jong-un with his best buddy, Dennis Rodman.

There’s lots of action.

Vladimir Putin plays a big role in the show.

As does Donald Trump.

Putin and Trump share some special moments...

And some very special moments...

And some very, very special moments. You can’t un-see this! (Report continued below...)

There’s lots of fire and explosive awesomeness to celebrate the hanging this year!

The Hanging is a Scary Farm tradition! It's always fun to see who they hang!

Over to The Red Barn...

I take it the senior trip didn’t go as planned.

There are lots of dead animals (and people).

Offer all to him!

No time to help her, we need to save ourselves!

Hopefully we don’t end up like these people.

I love this spooky horse animatronic.

Yay, we’re out of the barn! We survived!

Right next door is Special Ops: Infected, where you grab a gun and get to shoot zombies!

If it’s a zombie, shoot it!

Looks like a zombie to me! *Bang, bang*

There are so many cool rooms and scenes in this maze.

A crashed helicopter, this can’t be good! Quick, take the Metro!

On second thought, the Metro may have been a bad idea.

Yep, definitely a bad idea.

Good thing Spears is a master gunslinger! She’ll save us!

Shoot it Spears! *Bang* *Splat* *Guts everywhere*

Once Spears saved us from the zombies we headed over to the Charles Schulz Theatre for Elvira’s Last Show. Elvira is a Scary Farm legend, and sadly this will be her last year.

The show starts off with dancers taking the stage.

Here comes the star of the show!

There’s lots of dancing.

The format of the show changed a bit from previous years...

The last few years have been more of a variety show that featured several different performers. This year, it’s all about Elvira. She’s front-and-center throughout the entire show and the show really showcases her. It’s a fitting tribute for her final performance.

This is by far the best show I’ve seen her in. She really shines in it.

There’s a segment where she talks about her history from birth...

Through high school...

All the way through her history at Knott’s and in TV and film. Later in the show she even dons some of the outfits shown in the retro footage and recreates some of her famous moments!

After the history lesson she rips off her dress and goes into an awesome retro dance number.

There are some great humorous parts to the show too.

She even does some tassel twirling, as featured in her retro footage from Knott’s.

This show is great. It’s entertaining, it’s funny, and it’s the perfect tribute to a living legend who’s leaving at the top of her game.

At the end of the show she got a well-deserved standing ovation!

There’s a lot to love at Scary Farm this year, but for me - this is where it’s at. A truly special opportunity to see Elvira at her very best for one last time. Don’t miss this!

After the show we headed towards The Boardwalk.

It’s time to check out the Carnevil scare zone!

If you’re afraid of clowns, avoid this scare zone at all costs!

There are some awesome props throughout the area.

But it’s all about the clowns.

There are tall ones...

Balancing ones...

Ones that look like birds...

Ones that blow balloons...

Some are funny, some are creepy, and some are down-right scary.

The passages are extra narrow this year with the Hangtime construction walls up, so you can’t avoid running into the clowns.

This scare zone doesn’t use fog to mask the scares. The clowns are right out in the open, but they’ll still terrify you!

Underneath Xcelerator sits our next maze...

It’s time for Shadowlands!

Similar to Voodoo, this maze has a great outdoor-themed environment to start it off.

I love the Japanese theming.

There are lots of great scares!

You have to walk through this room where anyone could be a scare actor in disguise. Who’s going to jump out at you?

It’s impossible to tell who’s real and who’s fake.

The finale scene of this maze is great. You get to see a samurai warrior in action!

Next up, our favorite of the new mazes, Dark Ride!

You enter the Castle of Chaos, an abandoned dark ride riddled with trash and hobos.

As you walk through the maze you get to see the ride scenes as well as the backstage maintenance areas of the ride. It’s really neat!

There are bugs...

And mice...

It’s cool going back and forth between ride scenes and backstage areas.

The feel of this maze is just fabulous. Shopping carts and trash strewn throughout make it seem like the neglected ride is really being lived in.

This dragon scene is my favorite!

It really does feel like you’re exploring an abandoned, haunted dark ride.

There’s also lots of glowing merchandise for you glow-aficionados out there.

Over to the final scare zone, The Hollow!

This area is haunted by the souls of fallen soldiers and local farmers that have escaped their shallow graves.

There’s also a mini unannounced show that you may stumble upon if you’re in the area.

This stick sculpture gets burned at the end of it!

It’s like a mini Burning Man festival here at Knott’s, without all the Playa dust to deal with!

Spears says, “Get me out of here!”

Time to check out the final maze of the night, Pretzel Eater, err, Pumpkin Eater!

As you enter the small town, you’re greeted by a Jack-O-Lantern that introduces you to the story.

There are lots of large pumpkins.

And creepy people.

There’s a cave crawling with disgusting insects.

Scary things await you in the corn stalks!

And with that, our night is done!

Knott’s Scary Farm 2017 pulls out all the stops. There are awesome new mazes such as Dark Ride and Pumpkin Eater, returning mazes with new twists such as Trick-or-Treat: Lights Out, the return of a Halloween overlay to the Timber Mountain Log Ride, and great shows like The Hanging: Fake Noose and Elvira’s Last Show. On top of that there’s all the rides, food, and fun you’d expect from Knott’s. Knott’s Scary Farm is always a must-see Halloween event in So Cal, and this year is no different!

Thanks to Knott’s for inviting us to check out Scary Farm, and thanks to you for checking out our report. Knott’s Scary Farm runs select nights through October 31, don’t miss it!

I've been to Knott's Scary Farm only once, but have been on the wrong side of the country ever since--yet I've always liked it a bit more that Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. This year's version looks great.

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